PM Takaichi Denies Online Smearing Campaign Against Opponents By Her Camp

TOKYO, May 11 (Bernama-Kyodo) -- Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Monday denied reports that her camp spread videos online via anonymous accounts to smear opponents in last year's ruling Liberal Democratic Party leadership race and the February general election, Kyodo News reported.

The reports, which first appeared in the weekly magazine Shukan Bunshun in late April, claimed Takaichi's publicly funded first secretary and others made and posted videos criticising politicians, including LDP leadership rival and now Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, in which he was called "incapable" and a "puppet of hereditary politics".

It also claims they produced content for the Feb 8 House of Representatives election that labelled former opposition party leader Yukio Edano a "professional complainer". Edano lost his seat after running as a candidate for the Centrist Reform Alliance.

"I have been told that my office and campaign team did not in any way disseminate negative information about other candidates or create and distribute such videos," Takaichi said in parliament in response to opposition lawmaker Yuko Mori.

The prime minister added that it is not her "approach" to personally attack opponents.

Her denial is her second in parliament since Friday, when she said she had spoken with her secretary about the matter.

Takaichi told Mori she had confirmed directly with her staff, adding, "Do I believe a weekly magazine or do I believe my secretary? I believe my secretary."

Takaichi has built a reputation for effective social media use, which was seen as a strong factor in the LDP's landslide lower house election victory and her winning the party race to become the country's first female premier in October.

-- BERNAMA-KYODO